Rotary engine.



J. NIELSEN.

ROTARY ENGINE. v

APPLICATION FILED AUGI18, 1911.

1 942,95 1. Patented Oct. 29, 1912.

3 SHEETSSHEET 1,

J O 11 E..]. J3 35 30 22 36 J. NIELSEN.

ROTARY ENGINE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG 18, 1911.

1 ,O42,95 1 Patented Oct. 29, 1912.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2 llllll/l/ll/l/A Z I .92 C J S WW 7;; zm. wz/ ww UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

anus nInLsnN, or CEDAR FALLS, Iown.

ROTARY nner vn.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 29,1912.

Application filed August 18 1911. Serial No. 544,839.

the same time may be conveniently and economically operated as a pump toadvantage under conditions as will be hereinafter explained.

The device is an improvement upon the structure shown in my prior patentfor rotary engine #947,670, issued January 25, 1910, and employs severalfeatures in common with the structure shown in the said patent but theimprovements in details are such that I provide an engine having a highpercentage of efficiency, accompanied with durability and capacity forperforming hard service. At the same time the Sim plicity ofthe'structure is preserved and but a few parts are employed.

In the present invention an all metal part machine is disclosed whichrenders the machine adaptable to be transformed from an engine to a pumpand vice versa.

In brief the structure includes a circular casing one side or end ofwhich is closed by a detachable head with mechanism of peculiar designand arrangement adapted to hold the said-head in position against thecasing. A crescent shaped partitionis located within the casing and issupporter j' the head. The opposite side'or end in which the rotor shafthas a bearing may be integral with the circular casing or made separateand fastened to it. naled within the casing and is provided upon itsinnermost face with a seri s of spaced vanes the spaces between whichextend completely from the ends of the vanes to the face of the rotor,thereby providing ample passageway for the esca e of the,

fluid pressure after it has perormed its work within the;casing. Thesaid casingis also provided wl h inlet and exhaus'tfports A rotor isjourwhich open around the ends of the said vanes and which also openagainst the peripheral sides of the same.

The structure also includes a wheel. having peripheral teeth of peculiarconfiguration which are adapted to cooperate with the vanes between theinlet and exhaust ports of the casing in such manner as to present acomplete barrier against the direct passage of the fluid pressurefrom'the inlet port to the exhaust port and compelling the sameto passaround the vanes-and the teeth of the said wheel in a manner to utilizethe expansion and the-impact force of the said fluid pressure. ture itis especially adapted to be used in the capacity of a sanitary pump,that is, one used for moving milk, cream or other fluids whereit isnecessary to clean the parts frequently, and to do this thoroughly' byseparating the parts. In such a pump it is preferable to have theminimum number of parts and furthermore the parts should be so assembledthat they may be easilyand quickly taken apart and put together and atthe same time should be securely held together when the deviceisoperating as a ump.

In order that the parts may be readily separable, a double or sleevedshaft is pro vided consisting of an inner shaft fastened at its flaredend in the rotor, and an outer shaft or sleeve which has bearing in thefast head or end of the casing and also in an outside bearin stand. Thesleeve slidably receives the s aft but is restrained from separaterotary movement in the sleeve bya key inserted in a groove formed in therotor, the shaft and the sleeve. This groove and key is placed at anangle to the axis of the shaft. One or more grooves and keys maybeemployed. In the bearing stand a thrust-bearing mechanism is providedfor holding the sleeve against longitudinal movement when separated fromthe shaft. The pulley or other means for applying power to operate thestructure as a pump 1s mounted on the sleeve.

A locking device of peculiar arrangement is mounted. upon the shaft anden ages the .sleeve and serves to keep the end t ereof in close contactwith the outermost wall of the As a pump-of this strucrotor. Thereforeit will be seen that by separating the parts of this locking device therotor and its shaft may be readily removed from the sleeve for cleaningor other purposes while the sleeve remains in the bearings and is notdisturbed in its relation with respect to the casing.

For a full understanding of the invention reference is to be had to thefollowing description and accompanying drawings, in

which: I

Figure 1 is a side elevation of the machine; Fig. 2 is a front end viewof the same; Fig. 3 is a horizontal sectional v'iew of the same on theline 3-3 of Fig. 2; Flg. 4 is a central, vertical longitudinal sectionalView of the same cut. on the line 4-4 of. Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is atransverseseetlonal view of the same cut on the line 55 of Fig.4,looking in the direction indicated by the arrow; Fig. 6 is a similarview, taken on the same plane, but looking in -the opposite direction,the vanes of the rotor being omitted to more clearly illustrate theconstruction of the removable head; Fig. 7 is an edge view the removablehead; Fig. 8 is an inside face view thereof; Fig. 9 is a detalltransport 4. Either of these ports may be the ,induction port or eitherof the portsmay be and. fits snugly within the.

the exhaust port,..but for the purpose of clearly describing thestructure and operation ofthe machine, the uppermost port 3 will bereferred to ast-he induction or inlet port, while the lowermost port 4will be referred to asthe exhaust port. This will be followed in thedescription of the machine whether it is used as an engine ora pump;

A rotor 5 is journaledhin the casing 2 g H fer surface of the peripheralwall thereof. This rotor is provided upon its innermost face and at itsperiphery with a series of spaced vanes 6, the spaces between the saidvanes extending entirely from the ends thereof to the innermost face ofthe rotor so that they have the appearance of standing out directly fromthe face of the rotor and not standing away from a flange provided uponthe rotor as has heretofore been the practice, and which I i is clearlyshown in my prior Patent #7 51,196 dated February 2, 1904. This featurein conjunction with other operating features, as will be explainedhereinafter, are very essential to the proper operation of the machineas an engine or. pump. The

inner face of the rotor 5 is in the same vertical plane as the sides ofthe ports 3 and 4 which are nearest the closed side of the easing 2, andthe opposite sides of the said ports 3 and 4 are located somewhat beyonda vertical plane in which the ends of the vanes 6 lie so that the saidports 3 and 4 open around the ends and peripheral sides of the saidvanes when the vanes are positionedtransversely across the said ports.

One side of the casing 2 is closed by a head 7. When the machine is usedas an engine or common pump this head may be secured in position bybolts or other securing devices in any usual or appropriate manner, butwhen the machine is used as a pump fora special purpose, it ispreferable to have the head readily detachable from the casing 2, andtherefore a specially designed securing means is provided for holdingthe head and this means will be explained hereinafter.

The head 7 is of peculiar configuration, its peripheral portion beingadapted to fit snugly within the casing 2, and the said head is providedwith a circumferential flange 8 which bears directly against the side ofthe casing 2. It is through this flange that the securingbolts (whenused) are tapped when it is desired to permanently connect the head withthe casing. The head 7 is provided in its inner side portion with arecess 9 which registers with the side of the upper or inlet port 3 andthe said head 7 is also provided with a recess 10 which registers withthe lower or exhaust port 4. These recesses 9 and 10 in reality formcontinuations of the "respective ports with which they register andtherefore the openings or passageways of the fluid is more completelyextended around the ends of the vanes 6 when the said vanes aretransversely across the ports 3 and 4. Between the recesses 9 and 10,the head 7 is solid forming an abutment 11, Figs 6, 7 and 8 and thisabutment is approximately wedge-shaped and in side elevation is of suchdimension approximately equal to the dimensions of spaces between theteeth of a wheel which is located within the casing and which will beexplained hereinafter. A crescent shaped partition -l2 is'carried by thehead 7. This partition is located within the series of vanes 6 and itsoutermost surface bears snugly against the inner portions of the saidvanes. but the partition is located within the casing 2 at the oppositeside of y the center thereof from the ports 3 and 4, Fig. 5. A spindle13 is mounted upon the head 7 and extends inwardly from the inner sidethereof and a wheel 14 is journaled upon the said spindle. The saidwheel is provided upon its periphery with a series of radially disposedteeth 15, and these teeth are provided with slightly concaved sideswhich taper from the bases of the teeth to the apices thereof and it is;the space between these teeth that are of' the same dimensionsapproximately as the dimension in side elevation of the abutment l1hereinbefore described.

The teeth 15 are of such length that they fit snugly against theinnermost side of the crescent shaped partition 12 and at the oppositeside of the wheel they are flush with the peripheral edge of the head 7and at the upper and lower portions of the wheel the said teeth 15project to a considerable extent beyond the innermost edges of therecesses 9 and 10. These teeth 15 are also adapted to fit snugly in theouter portions of the spaces between the vanes 6 at that side of therotor 5 which is at the abutment between the ports 3 and 4, but thevanes 6 are of such configuration and the radial depth of the spacesbetween the teeth 15 so much "longer into the wheel 14 than the radialdepth of the vanes 6 that these do at no time completely fill the spacesbetween the teeth 15 at their inner ends, so that fluid which isconfined between the teeth and the vanes at the abutment may readilymove from one side of a vane 6 to the other side thereof, therebyavoiding obstruction and preventing what is generally known as a waterhammer. The upper and lower ends ofthe ports 3 and 4 respectivelyterminate approximately at the ends of the crescent shaped partition 12as do also the ends of the recesses 9 and 10 which are remote from theouter ends of the ports 3 and 4.

The sides of the vanes 6 are of arcuate configuration and the arcuatesides of each vane are coincident with or lie in the same arcs as thearcuate sides of other vanes of the series. This is rovided in orderthat the said vanes may t properly against the teeth 15 withoutcompletely closing against the same at the oppositesides of the teethwhen the wheel 14 is rotating and therefore it follows that the arc ofthe curvature of the sidesof the vanes 6 is not the same as thecurvature of the concavities at the sides of the teeth 15.

The casing 2 is provided at its open side with an annular recess 16 inwhich is located a packing 17 of rubber or other suitable material. Whenthe head 7 is in posi-' tion this recess 16 forms a three corneredgroove very serviceable for holding said packing against the side of thecasing 2.

The brief description of the operation of the parts hereinbeforedescribed as an engine is as follows: Presuming that a fluid underpressure is permitted to enter the casing 2 through the port 3, the saidfluid impinges against the vanes 6 at the uppermost part of the rotor 5and against the teeth 15 at the uppermost part of the wheel 14. Thecircular casing 2, the head 7, the face of the rotor 5 and the hub ofthe wheel 14 forms an annular channel narrowest at the abutment andwidest at the opposite side where the crescent partition divides thiswide channel into two channels that converge at the abutment. In theinner channel the teeth 15 move and in the outer the vanes 6. The

of the port 3 provided at the recess 9 are sufficient to subject therotor and its parts and the wheel and its parts to a sutiicient head ofthe fluid under pressure. The force of impact and the expansion of thesaid fluid will rotate the upper portion of the rotor 5 and also thewheel 14 away from the inlet port 8 and toward the exhaust port 4. Asthe vanes 6and the teeth 15 pass across the exhaust port 4, the fluid isexhausted from the casing 2 through the said port.- As the vanes andteeth intermesh at the abutment thereby (almost completely) closing theconverged channels, the fluid must leave the spaces between the vanesand the spaces between the teeth and thus the rotor 5 and the wheel 14working in unison are main t-ained in a contiuous state of rotation. Ifthe fluid under pressure was admitted at the lowermost port 4 andexhausted at the uppermost port 3, the operation just above describedwould be reversed, but this operation would be the same in effect. Byhaving the teeth 15 and the vanes 6 of the peculiar configuration andrelative sizes stated, all jerking or bumping motion or tendency of theparts is eliminated when the engine is running at high speed. In engineswhere these objectionable features-are present it is usuallv due toexcessive friction or water ham- I mers, the fluid being impinged orcaught between the teeth and vanes of the two moving parts and trappedin such manner that it cannot pass freely from one side of the parts tothe other. and any material increase in speed is always attended withmore or less jerking or bumping motion.

In the preferred form of the structure as a special pump, a block 18 ismounted upon the casing 2 near the base 1 and may or may not be integralwith the same. The said block is provided with a recess 19. In this formthe head 7 is not bolted to the side of the casing 2, but the head is ofthe same configuration as hereinbefore described and fits snugly againstthe side of the casing 2. The flange of the head is provided with arecess 20 which snugly receives the inner portion of the block 18. link21 is pivoted upon the upper side of the casing 52 and a lever 22 ispivoted within the slot of the said link .21. This lever 22 is Providedwith a. cam end 2-3. The head 7 is provided at its center on the outsidewith a tension screw 24 threaded in the A slotted ise head 7, and havinga head 25 for the dos-- ing bar to force against said screw 24 beingprovided with a lock nut under head 25 to hold it fast in the properposition. A bar 26 is provided with curved ends 27 the said ends beingof the same configuration and dimensions. One endof the bar 26 isinserted in the recess 19 of the block 18 and the otjler end of the saidbar is inserted in the slot of the link 21 behind the cam end 23 of thelever 22. Consequently :yvhen the said lever 22 is swung down againstthe bar. 26, the deep portion of the cam end 23 is brought against theupper end of the bar 26 and the intermediate portion of the said bar isforced against the head 25 of the tension screw 24, and the said screwtogether with the head 7 is forced toward the casing 2, and the head 7is securely held in position against the casing. By swinging the lever22 so that the shallow portion of the cam end 23 is brought opposite theupper end of the bar 26, the link 21 may be swung up so that the slottherein is. carried above the upper end of the bar 26 when the said barmay be" readily lifted outofthe recess 19 in the block 18, and when thisis done the head 7 may be removed from.

against'the side of the casing 2.

A standard 28 is mounted upon the base 1 at the closed side of thecasing 2 and is provided at its upper end with a bearing 29. The upperportion of the bearing 29 is closed by a cap 30. A sleeve 31 isjournaled in the closed end portion of the casing 2 and in the bearing29, and is provided with an annular groove 32 which is located under thecap 30. '"A thrust flange 33, isprovided' in the bearing 29 and cap30'which enters the groove. 32- whereby the sleeve 31 is restrainedagainst longitudinal movement. A shaft 34 is slidably received withinthe sleeve 31'and is provided with a grooved end 35 which projectsbeyond the outer end of the sleeve 31. A clip 36 is formed of two sectionshingedly connected togethefwhich are adapted to close within thegroove 35 of the shaft 34, and the said clip is provided with a conicalinner face 37. A nut 38 is screw threaded upon the outer end of thesleeve 31 and is provided with a conical recess 39 which receives theconical'face 37 of the sald clip. The inner end portion of the shaft 34is flared as at 40 and the sleeve 31 is closely fitted to said flaredpart of the shaft 34 and the rotor 5 hereinbefore described is mountedat the said flared portion :of the said shaft. A key 41 passes throughthe hub of the rotor 5 and extends along a groove 42 that when the nut38 is turned so that it is worked toward the outer end of the sleeve 31,its outer face bearing against the inner face of the clip 36 will movethe shaft 34 longitudinally in the sleeve 31, so that the outer side ofthe rotor 5 is brought in close contact with the inner end of the sleeveand the key 41 is securely seated in the recess 43 provided at the innerend of the said sleeve. When it is desired to remove the rotor forcleaning or other purposes it is necessary only to turn the nut 38 uponthe sleeve 31 so that it is worked away from the outer endv thereofandwhen the conical recess 39 provided in the said nut passes beyond theconical face 37 of the clip '36, the sections of the said clip may beswung apart so that the clip may be removed from the grooved end 35 0fthe shaft 34. Then after the head 7 has been removed from the casing 2as hereinbefore described, the rotor 5 and the shaft 34 may he slippedout of the casing and the sleeve 31. Thus the parts are separated andmay be readily cleaned and at the same time the sleeve maintains itsrelative position with relation to the casing and the key 41 is sopositioned that it effectually holds the rotor and the shaft in apredetermined relative position and also holds these parts in properposition with relation to the sleeve when the parts are assembled. Atthe same time the disposition of the key is such that the rotor and theshaft may be readily removed in the manner as above described.

,l laving thus described the. invention what Iclaim as new is:

1.. A rotary machine comprising a casing, a rotor journaled therein andhaving spaced vanes located at its side, said casing having inlet andoutlet ports the inner ends of which extend around the ends and theperipheral sides of the vanes.

2. A rotary machhie comprising a casing, a rotor journaled therein andcarrying at its side spaced vanes, and a wheel journaled in the casing,within the set of vanes and having peripheral teeth adapted to receivethe vanes between them, said casing having inlet and outlet ports andalso having a head disposed alongside said wheel and containing recessesextending to said ports and equipped with an auxiliary abutment thatseparates said recesses and is opposed to the side of the toothedportion of the wheel.

eral teeth, the sides of which are concave and which taper from theirroots to their apices.

4. A rotary machine comprising a casing,

having inlet and exhaust ports, a. rotor journaled therein and having atits side spaced varies, the openings between which extend to the face ofthe rotor, said vanes having arcuate sides, the curvature of the 5 sidesof one vane being coincident with the curvature of the sides of othervanes in the series.

5. .A rotary'machine comprising a casing, having inlet and exhaustports, a rotor series of spaced vanes, said casing including adetachable head and an annular groove three cornered in cross section,and a packing interposed between said head and the said casing andlocated in said groove.

6. A rotary machine comprising a casing, a shaft journaled in the casingand having a flared end, a rotor mounted. at the flared end of the shaftand located within the casing, akey passing through therotor and set ina groove in the --flared end of-the shaft and a sleeve slidablyreceiving the shaft and engaging the flared partof the shaft and thesaid key. whereby the sleeve is constrained to rotate in unison with theshaft.

7. A rotary machine comprising a casing, a shaft journaled therein, arotor mounted upon the shaft and located within the casing, a sleeveslidably mounted upon the shaft and a key passing through the rotor andentering the shaft and the sleeve and located at an angle to the axis ofthe shaft.

8. A rotary machine comprising a casing, a shaft journaled therein, arotor mounted upon the shaft andlocated within the casing, a sleeveslidably mounted upon the shaft and bearing against the rotor, saidshaft having a reduced part near the outer end, a clip located upon thereduced portion of the shaft and having a conical inner face, and a nutscrew-threaded upon the sleeve and having a conical recess whichreceives the conical face of the clip.

9. A rotary machine comprising a casing mounted upon a base, adetachable head closing one side of the casing, a rotor journaled in thecasing, means for securing the head in position against thecasingconsisting of a clamp bar having curved end portions of the sameconfiguration, means for confining one end of the bar at the base of thecasing, a link pivotally mounted at the top of the casing, and aneccentric lever fulcrumed in the link and adapted to engage the otherend of the bar to force the same against the head.

10. A rotary machine comprising a casing,;a base supporting the same, arotor journaled in the casing, a block located upon the 'asing near thebase and having an opening, said casing having a detachable headprtgvided at its edge with a recess adapted to. receive the block, a barrestin t it g din the opening in the block, an

journaled therein and having at its side a means for securing the otherend of the bar whereby the head 1s held against the casing.

11. A rotary machine comprising a casing, a rotorjournaled therein, ahead closing one side of the casing, meansfor holding the head inposition against the casing comprising a bar, means for securing thelower end of the bar, a slotted link pivoted to the upper end of thecasing, a lever fulcrumed in the slot of said link and having aneccentric end, said slotted link adapted to receive the upper end of thebar whereby the bar is locked in position against the head when the saidlever is swung.

12. A rotary machine comprising a casing, a base supporting the same, ablock located upon the casing near the base and having an opening, arotor journaled in the casing, a head closing the side of the casing andprovided with a peripheral flange whichin'turn-lsprovided with a recesswhich receives the block and a locking mechanism for holding the headagainst the casing including a bar adapted to enter the recess in theblock and means for securing the upper end of the bar to the upperportion of the casing. c

13. A rotary machine comprising a casing, a rotor journaled therein, ahead adapted to close theside of the casing and having at its outer sidean adjustable tension member, a bar extending transversely across thehead and ring at its intermediate portion against he said member, andmeans for confining the ends of the bar.

14. Arotary machine comprising a casing, a rotor journaled therein andcarryingat its side spaced vanes, and a wheel journaled in the casingwithin the set of vanes and having peripheral teeth adapted to receivethe vanes between them; the said casing havin inlet and outlet ports andalso having a'hea arranged at the opposite side of the wheel,

with reference to the rotor, and carryingan abutment that lies in aplane alongside the plane of movement of the wheel and in position toclose the interdental spaces of the wheel at the opposite side of thewheel, with reference to the rotor, said head also having recesses atopposite sides of the abutment and between the ports and the abutment.

15. A rotary machine comprising a casing, a rotor journaled therein andcarrying at its side spaced. vanes, and a wheel journaled in the casingwithin the set of vanes and having peripheral teeth adapted to receivethe vanes between them; the said casing havin inlet and outlet ports anda portion, locate between the ports and opposed to the periphery of thewheel, and a crescent-shaped partition arranged at the opposite side ofthe machine center to the ports and said.

portion and also having an abutment that liesin a plane alongside theplane of movemajor part of ment of the wheel and in position to closethe interdental spaces of the wheel at the opposite side of the wheel,with reference to the rotor, and further having recesses intermediatethe ports and said abutment.

16. A rotary machine comprising a casing, a rotor journaled therein andhaving at its side a series of spaced vanes, said casing having inletand outlet ports and said vanes having arcuate sides, and a Wheeljournaled in the casing, and positioned within the series of spacedvanes and alongside the the rotor, and having teeth and also havinginterdental spaces larger and also deeper in a radial direction than thevanes;

BERDINE SEVERIN.

